Peace On Earth Film Festival Outreach Programs

Both Programs are vested in the following Intention and Goals

INTENTION: To create dialogue, starting with our youth, on peace, nonviolence, social justice and an eco-balanced world.

GOALS: To stimulate youth, as well as people of all ages, to tell their own stories, while at the same time, honoring another’s story. In this way participants begin to see that their personal stories have qualities that are universal. We believe this universality is at the heart of learning and tolerance, and opens channels of greater communication and dialogue. To see and hear another’s story, yet know it is your own, awakens understanding and leads to dialogue. This is the beginning of peace.

You can't hate the one whose story you know.
– Margaret Wheatley

Student Voices for Peace Showcase

Held annually on the first day of the POEFF, Student Voices for Peace Showcase is FREE, but seating is limited and reservations are required. Please call the POEFF at 773.273.1598 if you are interested in booking your school or community organization.

Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater, one session held on both Thursday (grades 6th - 8th) & Friday (grades 9th - 12th) mornings of the festival weekend from 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

• Target Grades: 7th - 12th. Theater capacity: approximately 275.
• 3 – 5 selected films in competition at the festival are shown, followed by an interactive discussion of each film with the student audience. The discussion includes POEFF Directors, as well as filmmakers in attendance whose films were selected for the Showcase
• Films for the student audience are selected on relatable themes specific to young people on peace, nonviolence, social justice and an eco-balanced world. Dialogue and discussion includes: establishing best practices of listening to and honoring another’s story, sharing challenges to peace in the students’ own lives, and exploring assumptions and attitudes.
• To ensure that every student can share their voice, each is provided a voting/comment card and pencil. After seeing the films and participating in the discussion, the students vote (and may include personal comments on the films/discussion) for the following award: “Student Choice Award for Most Inspiring Story”
• This special award, voted on solely by the students and staff attending the Student Voices for Peace Showcase, is presented to the winning filmmaker along with the other festival awards at the gala closing ceremony on Sunday evening.

Dialogue for Peace Outreach Program

This FREE program is presented throughout the year. If you wish to book your school or community organization, call 773.273.1598. Designed for Grade 7 (age 12) and up. Appropriate for groups comprised of all students, mixed age groups (comprised of students and adults), or groups comprised of all adults.

• POEFF Dialogue for Peace Outreach brings the Peace On Earth Film Festival into diverse communities and economically challenged neighborhoods of Chicago. This dialogue-focused outreach program begins with young people, who are often the most affected by neighborhoods rife with violence, and communities where poverty is most prevalent. The program is designed to stir interest in films set in the various modalities of peace, engaging Chicagoans of all ages in dialogue on alternatives to violence, creating an environment of listening, sharing and honoring each others’ stories.
• With the filmmakers’ approval, selected POEFF films are brought into Chicago communities, along with tested programming to stir dialogue on peace. Dialogue for Peace Outreach was successfully piloted in over 6 Chicago Public Schools between April and June 2010, covering grades 7th – 12th, and has also been presented at the college level as well as to community organizations.

Illinois Standards Met:

• Develop self-awareness and self-management skills to achieve school and life success.
• Use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships.
• Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

2012 POEFF TEACHER ADVISORY PANEL

Amy Appleman, CICS Avalon Charter School, 7th grade Teacher
Sousan Ayyad, Universal Islamic High School, School Counselor
Erik Olson, Harper High School, 9th - 12th grade Teacher
Brad Parker, Josephine Locke Elementary, 7th Grade Teacher

This dedicated group of educators came together to advise the POEFF Directors on their film selections for the POEFF Outreach Programs. These teachers screened several films, rated those films on age and content-appropriateness for students in grades 7 – 12, eloquently sharing their reaction to the films, as well as their viability for generating dialogue on peace and nonviolence in a school setting.

What teachers & students have to say about Dialogue for Peace Outreach Program

"... the program was truly education at its best: interesting, inspiring, meaningful, and conducive toward action."
– Brad Parker, National Board Certified Teacher

"This program gave our students a chance to be heard…not only in the classroom, but in the community as well. My students could not wait to share their experiences with peers and parents."
– Jennifer Hammons, 7th Grade Teacher, Locke Elementary

“Students would benefit from fun, interactive lessons and dialogue, and teachers would benefit from the well developed lesson plan and activities. The community would also benefit from students beginning to see themselves as a part of a bigger world..."
– Deborah O'Brien, International Baccalaureate Coordinator, Locke Elementary

"It can make us change our point of view, and it can make us do something to make a difference, and make a better world... "
– 10th Grader, Steinmetz Academic Center

"It changed my whole opinion about the way I feel about people from other cultures ...we're kind of the same in ways.”
– 8th Grader, C.I.C.S Avalon Campus

"These films we watched weren't like any movies I'd seen before, these films made me think about life, how other people lived. It was like the first time I ever thought so much that my brain started hurting."
– 7th Grader, Locke Elementary